Unit

Plan Overview

Unit:

Stage 1- Desired Results

Connections to Context:
As far as I know, up to this point the first
grade students have mostly been
introduced to different musical songs that
are partnered with activities/games. I
suppose in some senses you could say that
this relates to this Peter and the Wolf unit
because the students are associating
characters with instruments and themes,
much like they have associated songs with
specific activities. I am unsure if there has
been any other units that have lead up to
this one. Perhaps they have studied
instruments before or they have talked
about identifying musical themes; I am
unsure.
The Excel Charter Academy handbook
states as part of the music curriculum:
Students are exposed to a wide variety of
music education and many periods of music
during their classes. Students also spend
time developing an appreciation for
different genres of music and their great
composers. This is exactly what is being
covered in this unit; students are being
exposed to musicals, a variety of
instruments, and an orchestral composer.
Another aspect of Excel that is important is
its moral focus. Excel believes that it is
imperative to equip students with both the
moral and academic foundations necessary
to interact successfully in todays society.
Therefore, they will also be using/learning
skills such as teamwork, creativity, listening
skills, and etcetera.
Overall, students will deepen their
appreciation of music as a whole.

Transfer
Students will be able to independently use their learning to
Identify and describe music in other places
Recognize instrumental sounds/timbres
Compare and contrast musical themes/patterns
Demonstrate appropriate audience behavior

(What kinds of long-term independent accomplishments are desired?)

UNDERSTANDINGS
Students will understand that
Each instrument has its own sound
Each instrument can be used to represent different
things (ex. a bird sounds like a flute)
A musical pattern/theme can represent
something/someone
Stories can be set to music

(What specically do you want students to understand?
What inferences should they make?)

Meaning
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Students will keep considering
What specific instruments match with people or object
that they see everyday
What musical themes they can recognize from day to day
activities (ex. advertising jingles)
What instrument it is that they are hearing when they
hear instruments in the music they listen to

(What thought-provoking questions will foster inquiry, meaning-
making and transfer?)

Acquisition of Knowledge, Skill and Values/Commitments/Dispositions
Students will know
Students will be skilled at
Students will exhibit
The storyline of Peter and the Wolf Listening for specific themes and
Appreciation for instruments and
instruments
the different sounds they can
The specific instruments that
make
represent the characters in the
Identifying all the characters by
story (strings, drums, oboe, flute,
instruments
Teamwork skills as they work
clarinet, bassoon, French horn)
with other class members during
Creatively acting out the
multiple lessons
characters
The musical themes that represent
each character

Creativity as they act out the story

Comparing characters to their

themes
How to act out a story

Imagining the story in their heads
(What values and commitments and
(What facts and basic concepts should

students know and be
able to recall?)

(What discrete skills and processes should

students be able to use?)

attitudes should students acquire or

wrestle with?)

(How does this fit with students experiences,

the school goals, and the larger societal issues?)
Based on Wiggins and McTighe (2011) The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units and Van Brummelen (2002) Steppingstones to Curriculum

Established Goals
Art.M.K.III.3 Describe the music performed
and presented in first grade by moving,
drawing, or through other appropriate
responses.

Art.M.K.III.1.5. Identify the timbre of
pitched classroom instruments.

Art.M.V.1.2 Observe and identify cross
curricular connections within the first
grade curriculum.

Art.M.IV.1.1 Identify and describe
distinguishing characteristics of several
different styles presented in 1st grade.

Art.M.IV.1.3 Demonstrate audience
appropriate behavior for the context and
style of music presented and performed in
1st grade.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2
Retell stories, including key details, and
demonstrate understanding of their central
message or lesson.

(What content standards and program- or
mission-related goal(s) will the unit address?
What habits of mind and cross-disciplinary
goal(s)- for example 21st century skills, core
competencies- will this unit address?
Include source and identifying number)

Evaluative Criteria
It makes a huge difference when you are
grading high school students and
elementary school students. For my
assessment I will not be giving my student a
grade, but rather I will simply indicate
whether they are at a basic, proficient, or
advanced level of learning.

Stage 2- Evidence
Students will show their learning by
PERFORMANCE TASK(S):
1. Tell the story using pictures on the board and by playing the instrumental characters n the clavinova/keyboard
o assessment during lesson 1 will simply be watching the students to make sure that they are paying
attention and whether or not they look interesting in the story
2. Review matching the characters with their instrument on the board and then have the students do it in pairs on the
floor.
o Lesson 2 I will be able to see whether students can match the instruments and characters when we do it
on the board and when I walk around the room and observe the partners matching them on the floor

Based on Wiggins and McTighe (2011) The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units and Van Brummelen (2002) Steppingstones to Curriculum

(What criteria will be used in each assessment to

evaluate attainment of the desired results?)

3. Hold auditions for the characters, in preparation for the students to act out the story
o There wont be much assessment for lesson 3; I will be able to see whether or not students understand
the purpose of their character in the story when they audition for a part
4. Students will have time to rehearse and come up with a little skit of the story
o Assessment during these 2 lessons will be watching the groups to make sure they are on task and
actually getting their rehearsing done
o Again, I will be able to watch the students as they practice to see whether they actually have grasped the
story
5. Students will watch the actual Peter and the Wolf movie to complete the unit
o Here I will be able to observe the students facial expressions and reactions to the movie; their
expressions can tell me whether or not they can make connections from everything weve done in class
so far during the unit to the events that take place in the movie
o I will also assess them by correcting their individual matching worksheets

(How will students demonstrate their understanding- meaning-making and transfer- through complex performance?)
There are four qualities that are most important
for assessment:
-
recognize instrumental
sounds/timbres
-
use movement to demonstrate changes
in music
-
compare and contrast musical patterns
-
demonstrate good audience behavior
(Regardless of the format of the assessment,
what qualities are most important?)

OTHER EVIDENCE:
For the final lesson I will also have each student complete a worksheet to see whether or not they can match the
characters and instruments on their own
A teacher is assessing all of the time During every lesson I will watching the students facial expressions and
thought process to gather the information I need for assessment (you can tell a lot about whether a student
understand or not by their face)


(What other evidence will you collect to determine whether Stage 1 goals were achieved?

Based on Wiggins and McTighe (2011) The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units and Van Brummelen (2002) Steppingstones to Curriculum

Stage 3- Learning Plan

My pre-assessment will simply consists of talking to my teacher about where the students are at with different things.
She has been teaching them all year, so she knows what kind of material the students already know and she knows which
areas the students will understand well and struggle with a little more.

(What pre-assessments will you use to check students prior knowledge, skill levels, and potential misconceptions?)
(Toward which goal does each
Learning Events
learning event build?)


Student success at transfer, meaning, and acquisition depends upon their participation in
Acquisition
these learning events


Meaning
Students success depends on their participation in all of the class activities: actively

listening to the story, matching the pictures with partners, auditioning for a character, and
Transfer
using improvisation and movement to represent their character. Because I am teaching this

unit to a first grade music class stage 1 and 2 do align, but perhaps not in the same ways as
if I were going to teach an older grade. I am not going to give the first grade students a huge
test or a paper to write about the unit. Instead a lot of my assessment will be watching the
students throughout the unit to see how well they understand the content based on their
participation and based on their responses in different situations.

(Does the learning plan reflect principles of learning and best practices?)
(Is there tight alignment with Stages 1 and 2?)

Progress Monitoring
For the most part I will monitor progress
during activities by walking around to see
if students are getting it or by watching
from my spot.
(How will you monitor students progress
toward acquisition, meaning, and transfer
during lesson events?)

Quite frequently I set up expectations

for students before giving them an
activity; this allows the students to
monitor their own progress and
monitor their own self-control.
There are several activities where
students can monitor their own
progress, particularly the matching of
pictures on the floor with a partner.

(How will students monitor their

own progress toward acquisition,
meaning, and transfer?)

I think that if rough spots due occur at

some point during my lessons that it will
be during the auditions and
performances because they are a little bit
more chaotic lessons in general. I do
worry slightly that students might to get
out of control a little. Students may also
misunderstand or pretend to
misunderstand my expectations to see if
they can push the boundaries.
(What are potential rough spots and
student misunderstandings?)

I will be giving feedback throughout the

unit as I walk around during
activities. They will also get feedback
when they get their individual
worksheet back at the end
(How will students get the feedback they
need?)
Based on Wiggins and McTighe (2011) The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units and Van Brummelen (2002) Steppingstones to Curriculum

Based on Wiggins and McTighe (2011) The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units and Van Brummelen (2002) Steppingstones to Curriculum